prae-tĕgo, texi, tectum, 3, v. a., to cover over, to shelter, protect (poet. and in postAug. prose): cavo praetegit aere caput (al. protegit), Prop. 3, 12 (4, 13), 12: quae somnium (tuum) saxa praetexerint, i. e. the rocks that sheltered your repose, Plin. Pan. 15: praetecto capite, Cael. Aur. Tard. 1, 5, 112.
Trop.: vitia sua capillis et pallio, et (quod maximum est velamentum) divitiis praetegebat, Lact. 5, 2.